The Domino Effect: Time is a Figure Eight
by Zypherion-DeathNova
Summary: Zeta and Ro are about to have their lives change thanks to my time travelling cyborg. Rated for violence, swearing, and suggested nudity. Updated 2/17/11 for grammar/spelling. OCs in this fic are copyrighted to me.
1. Default Chapter

August 3, 2032 -

The scenic backdrop of the city of Seattle was nice enough with its snow-covered Mount Rainier and acres of evergreen trees visible to the south and the ocean view to the west. The scent of the sea air drifts on the afternoon breeze as Ro sips on her hot chocolate while standing directly behind Zeta who works on one of Ground Wires' computers.

"You know, I thought this state was supposed to have a lot of rain." she mentions as she watches yet another tourist walk by with a camera around his neck. She wore a dark blue non-sleeved shirt that buttoned all the way to her neck, black jeans that flared slightly at the bottom, and white running shoes.

Zee replies, "This time of year it doesn't Ro." He wore his 'hologram' human self with the dark purple coat with black trim, light purple shirt, dark gray slacks held up by a black belt and silver buckle, and black shoes. He disconnects himself from the computer.

Ro knows that look far too well by now, "Don't tell me, a dead end?" she asks.

Zeta gets to his feet, "Yes, apparently he doesn't live there anymore."

Ro sips down the dregs of her hot chocolate and casually throws away the Styrofoam cup in a trash can nearby, "Well we could just stop by and ask a few questions at least."

Zeta smiles, "I was just about to suggest that."

Ro just gives him that sly smile of hers, "Yeah? Well maybe we are thinking more alike too."

Zeta shakes his head a bit, "Let's get going then, it is a long drive to where we need to be."

"And here I was so enjoying the view too." Ro says sarcastically as yet another tourist walks by.

Zeta's hand presses against her upper back, guiding her towards the door, "I like it too."

Ro just smiles, "Remind me to tell you what sarcasm is sometime." the second Zeta opens his mouth she was quick to tell him, "Please Mister Dictionary, none of that."

Zeta blinks and asks, "How did you know I was going to give you the dictionary definition?"

Ro climbs into the red hover car they have been driving around lately, paid by Zetas' infinite cred limit as she replies, "Because I know you Zee."

August 3, 2042

"I still don't know why I'm helping you do this. The ramifications..." the elderly man in a white lab coat, covering a white dress shirt and black slacks starts to say.

"I know the ramifications. Just do it."

The man sighs heavily, "May God have mercy on our souls." he murmurs as he slid the lever down.

The machine came to life, first at a low hum and then building into a loud crescendo of sound accompanied by blinding light. He moved the lever back up again and the figure within the circle was gone.

He licks his lips, hand wiping the sweat off his brow. The door to his lab jerks off its hinges. The police had finally battered the door down after having been working on it at least ten minutes. He is surrounded by SWAT members bearing Plexiglas shields and AK 47s.

"I'm afraid you are too late, gentlemen." he tells them as he raises his hands in the air, "I would be careful firing those in here or there will be little chance of retrieval."

A cop steps forward with handcuffs in hand, "You have the right to remain silent..." she begins, rattling off the Miranda Rights.

"May I ask why I am being arrested?" he asks calmly, even as the cuffs get snapped on and secured behind his back.

September 3, 2032

It is no surprise where Zeta and Rosalie Rowen goes that sooner or later the NSA follows. Agent Bennett rode on a hover cycle, handgun clenched tightly as he aimed for the synthoid, Zeta. Right behind him, Agent West is coming in on the passenger side of the hover car.

"Give it up Zeta." shouts Bennett over the sound of the wind, "Just pull over and give up."

Agent West gets to the side as he plans, "Can I shoot him?" he shouts in askance.

Zeta isn't about to pull over and give up, let alone get Ro shot at by NSA agents. His thoughts over how to escape are quicker than any known computer out there. Thankfully Ro is buckled up as he guns the hover car and aims it directly for a nearby train tunnel. His sudden movement causes the hover car to hit Agent Wests' hover cycle, jostling him way off the road and into the bushes.

"Aaaahhh!" Agent West cries as he tries to maintain control while braking hard.

Agent Bennett growls and squeezes off a shot, the bullet impacts the hover car high on the driver's side bumper as Zeta again jostles the car square onto the tracks. "You'll get yourself and the girl killed!" he yells after them.

Ro looks at Zeta wildly, "Are you nuts? This is a train track!"

Zeta has no time for explanations, "Unbuckle and hang onto me Ro."

The sound of train horn blared from the tunnel.

Ro's eyes go wide, "You are insane." she tells him as she unbuckles and hangs onto him.

Agent Bennett hears the horn as well and stops short of tunnel entrance, he backs the hover cycle off the track. It's only a few seconds later that he hears the sound of the girl screaming and then the sound of metal hitting metal.

Ro blinks her eyes open, greeted by Zeta's smile. She can see the landscape whizzing past through the window that is prominent behind him. She rubs at her eyes a little, yawning.

"I bought you some lunch." Zeta offers.

"Thanks Zee." Ro tells him as she slowly gets up, "Wonder how ticked Bennett will be when he finds no bodies in our hover car?" she asks.

Zeta replies, "I don't know to be honest Ro."

Ro bites into her ham and cheese sandwich on white bread. It always amazes her how Zeta can get whatever he wants for her and yet buys the simplest food his creds could by. She swallows and asks, "Know where we are going yet?"

Zeta nods, "Yes. We'll be getting off at the next train stop."

"And that is where?" Ro presses and then takes another bite.

"Portland Oregon. Just as we planned." Zeta replies.

oOThis synthoid has yet to cease to amaze me. He always gets away with the comes a thought as she watches them get off the train they had conveniently got on. oOIt has been a month now. No matter how many times the NSA finds them and tries to capture them, they somehow manage to With swift movement the figure from the future moves in between two box cars, continuing to watch the duo. oOSoon we shall meet face to

Zeta and Ro move to the nearby car rental agency and with Zetas' creds it is no trouble getting one at all. Little do they know that the figure is watching and listening to everything. The figure has been doing so for a solid month without being spotted at all. Watching what vehicle they get into and then what direction they go, then it is time for the continuation of observation.

The man at the counter smiles, Good evening, miss. What were you looking for?"

The woman before him smiles back, showing her cred card, "The top of the line, I spare no expense."

"Yes ma'am!" he replies, taking the card.

Some miles down the road...

"Zee? Do you think he's here?" Ro asks.

Zeta replies with a smile, "We've spent so long just tracking him down that I can only hope that he is."

Ro leans herself against the side of the door, looking at the side mirror, "Me too Zee." She notices a blue hover SUV following some distance back. This late at night, she had only seen a token number of cars and they were all heading back into the heart of Portland whereas they were heading into the outskirts. "Hey, next fast food place you see let's get me something to eat okay?"

Zeta nods, "Sure Ro."

It is only a short while before one appears and they pull over. The woman in the blue hover SUV smiles to herself she drives some miles down the road and pulls over. Getting out of the vehicle she moves to the hood and opens it, with a swift movement she gives a radiator hose a prick with her fingernail. oONow I just hope that the synthoid does not disappoint me by not pulling She gets back into the car and turns on the flashers.

A few minutes later...

Ro sips on a thick chocolate milkshake, her other hand grasps a double stack cheeseburger will all the fixings.

Zeta shakes his head, "I hope you won't make a habit of fast food Ro, it is bad for you."

Ro smiles sweetly, "Anything that's bad for you tastes great Zee."

Zeta sighs softly and let's it drop. He knows how pointless it is to lecture Ro on just about anything anymore. He spots flashing lights ahead, "Looks like a stranded motorist. Maybe we should help."

Ro is automatically cautious, "Alright, but be ready for a trap. I'd not put it past Bennett to pull something."

Zeta nods, he pulls the hover car beside the blue hover SUV and looks over at a rather lovely woman who is smiling over at them from her driver's seat. "Evening, do you require assistance?" Zeta asks.

"I sure do. I seem to have a hose leak and I'm afraid I don't have a cell phone on me." she replies.

Zeta exchanges a look with Ro. Ro sips on her milkshake and gives him a slight nod. He smiles, "Well we could take you to a phone if you like."

That is exactly what the woman wants to hear, she smiles brightly and gushes, "Oh thank you sir!" she gets out of her vehicle, taking the keys out of the ignition and snagging her purse. She's dressed in a knee high, sleeveless black dress with matching black high heels and black pantyhose. Her form was model caliber curvaceous with just the right amount of bust line. Her silvery hair framed a face that was quite stunning and had only a hint of makeup upon it.

Ro turns her head slightly to observe the lady quietly. oO(Silver hair, funky)Oo

Zeta glances at Ro again who continues to eat her fast food, "You are welcome." he states as he watches the woman get into the back passenger seat.

The woman buckles up and puts her purse in her lap, "I'm Nova." she states as she offers Zeta her hand.

Zeta smiles a bit, "Zee. This is Ro." he finds the woman's grip surprisingly strong, "You must work out."

Nova smiles as she releases his hand from her own, "Oh yes, a lady must these days in order to keep her figure."

Ro rolls her eyes. oO(Oh brother.)Oo

Zeta catches the expression and offers a raised brow in askance. Ro says nothing, she just sucks up more milkshake through a straw.

Nova leans back against the back seat as Zeta pulls the hover car back onto the road, "I thank you again for your kind assistance. If I may, I would like to reward you."

This causes Ro to glance back at her with a shocked look.

Zeta looks back at the woman in the rear view mirror and states, "Thank you for the offer, but we are only doing our civic duty."

Ro looks at Zeta and smiles, she'll let him handle this one. She's still finishing her meal off.

Nova nods, looking back at Zeta through the mirror reflection, "A true gentlemen are you, Zeta." she states.  
-

Five miles later...

Zeta pulls up into an old fashioned gas station, in fact it looks like it is still stuck in 1950. There is an old phone booth, probably a 1980s model, sitting next to the well kept whitewashed station building. A man steps out of the office within. The sign in the office reads "Open 24/7".

Nova unbuckles herself, then opens the door, not at all missing the twice over the man gave her. She just smiles.

The man tips his hat up a little, "Evening folks. What can I do you for?"

Nova speaks up, "I just need the use of your phone."

"Go ahead, miss." the man replies, "I'm afraid we don't have a recharger at this station for that vehicle. But there's a station another five miles down the way that does."

Zeta nods, "Thank you." he had not missed the look the man gave Nova either.

Apparently Ro has also noticed, she spoke in a whisper to Zeta, "Think we should leave her alone with this guy?"

Nova is at the phone, swiping her cred card through the slot. She acts it out very well, she isn't directly hitting the keys on the phone. She made it look like she did though.

Zeta looks back to Ro as the man walked slowly back to the office, "Not at all. I want to be sure that she arrives somewhere safe."

Ro smiles at him, "You are learning from the pro after all."

The man hangs out at the doorway of the office, which has a good view of the phone booth. His intent gaze is all too obvious to the street smart Ro.

Nova fakes her conversation then hangs up the phone, she returns to the hover car, "I found a tow truck company that can take my vehicle to a nearby mechanic. Unfortunately the mechanic won't be open until the morning. Any chance you folks could take me to my destination?"

Zeta and Ro exchange a glance, Ro nods to Zeta.

Zeta replies, "Where is your destination?"

Vancouver, Washington

Zeta watches a moment as the valet drives off with the rental. Before them was a towering behemoth of a motel. Ro leans against Zeta heavily, she's pretty beat after the thirty minute drive to get here. Nova is already checking herself into the hotel.

Zeta suggests, "We should get a room too Ro."

Ro raises her sleepy eyes to his face, "Okay Zee."

They move together to await service, much to their surprise Nova turns and hands them a set of keys. Zeta gives her a confused look, Ro's eyes open wide a moment. Nova just smiles and says, "Consider it my way of saying thank you. I will have no arguments."

Zeta notes the inflection of her voice, he nods and replies, "We thank you very much. Come on sleepy head."

A short ride on the elevator later...

Ro waits until they are safely within the confines of the hotel room before she states, "Something is up with that woman."

Zeta is gently coaxing her to the bed, "What do you mean?"

Ro is grudgingly allowing his coaxing, she sits down on the side of the bed, "No one can be that nice. I mean she paid for room like.. like this?" she gestures around.

It was the Presidential Suite they were in with two queen sized beds in the bedroom, a fireplace, a full kitchen - basically it looked like a miniature version of a home, but a lot more spectacular.

Zeta turns to find the light switch, "She's probably rich is all Ro. Don't be so suspicious all the time."

Ro gets up long enough to tug the covers off the bed, she then lies down as Zeta finds the switch and turns the lights off. "Well it if not for my suspicions we'd not be running from Bennett still."

Zeta knows this all too well, "I know Ro. Just this once, I would like to believe that someone isn't out to get us."

Ro pulls the covers over herself, "Night Zee."

"Pleasant dreams Ro."

Ro slept very well and woke to Zeta standing nearby. "Hey, could you go downstairs and order me some breakfast?" she asks.

"Sure thing. The usual?" he replies.

"You know it." Ro smiles as she pulls the covers off herself.

Zeta smiles back and departs. The second the door closes Ro practically jumps out of the bed. She already has a plan in mind concerning their benefactor, Nova. The breakfast request serves as a perfect secondary purpose. She knows that Zeta would stop her from spying on the woman. She waits awhile by the door, listening at the door and then opening it to peer out. Seeing that Zeta is not in sight she moves down to the room next door where Nova is staying. She tries the door knob, it turns with no resistance. She pushes on it and the door swings in.

She peers within, oO[That was too easy. Way too easy.]Oo It is as if Nova wanted someone to come in. That makes Ro suspicious even more than before. She takes cautious steps into the room, her eyes searching the living room ahead. There's a large antique steamer trunk sitting near the couch. Upon the back of the couch is the dress and nylons the woman was wearing the night before, the shoes and purse sit on a table in front of the couch. She moves further in and a melody reaches her ears. At first there is no words, just loud humming. The voice comes from the bathroom. Ro decides she may just have enough time so she pops the two catches loose and opens the lid. She freezes when Nova's voice speaks.

"I do hope you have a good reason to come in without saying hello."

Ro's eyes are glued to what is within the steamer trunk, it looks like some sort of highly advanced battery charger. There were two windows in it that were are dark, apparently some sort of digital readouts. There's a single, thick cord ended with a gold covered circular device. She's been busted, and isn't sure what to say.

Nova moves behind her, speaking again, "Let me guess, Ro, you had a suspicion. Something nagged at your conscience when it came to me. You decided to do a little investigation and your friend Zeta is probably downstairs fetching you breakfast."

Ro's gaze moves from the trunk to the sound of something hitting the couch, her mouth drops. It's a skin! In fact it is a full body worth of skin. "Ew... gross..." she mutters. But as she looks closer she notices there is no blood on this skin, in fact that skin looks like is isn't even real since there is a straight seam the runs along the side.

Nova sits directly in her view, gazing at her with softly glowing orange optics. Sitting there in all her silver toned, metallic, and quite naked glory. "Oh... my... God..." is all Ro can utter.

Nova just smiles at her, "I assure you God had nothing to do with me." she informs her.

Ro can't help but stare, it s like looking at a horrid car accident. The perverse side just takes over and makes you stare. "What /are/ you?" she manages to utter.

Nova is checking her 'skin' as she speaks, "I am a cyborg. A being that is part machine and part human. You realize that what you see now must not be spoken to Zeta, right?"

Ro looks into Nova's glowing optics, "How can I not tell him? This will freak him out."

Nova moves a foot into the skins' leg and slides it up, "Exactly why you cannot tell him, Ro." she explains as she slides the other foot into the other leg and slides that up. "You see, the facts are like this. I am from the future, a decade in fact." she stands now to pull the skin over her waist and torso. "I cannot tell you why I am here, only that I mean no harm to yourself or Zeta."

Ro watches her quietly as she speaks, it's very weird to watch this skin get placed back onto a metallic body that would probably win every single last beauty pageant out there and have every last man on Earth drool if it was photographed for Playboy. "Great." came Ro s sarcastic reply.

Nova chuckles softly as if she finds Ro s sarcasm humorous, she puts each arm into the skin and tugs it all snug then finally pulls the head portion over, allowing her hair to be the only part that's not part of this skin. "You don't believe me."

Ro just looks at Nova, now in her nude human skin. "No, I don't."

Nova takes up her dress from the couch and hmms softly, "Well, you will learn that I can be trusted soon. Now then, off with you. I can hear the elevator coming and I would guess that Zeta is riding it."

Ro eats her breakfast, not saying a word. That worries Zeta slightly as Ro typically has something to say about the food she is eating. But she isn't even uttering an 'mmm'. Her face shows no displeasure at the food quality either.

Zeta finally asks, "What is it Ro?"

Ro finishes her meal and states an abrupt, "Nothing."

Zeta hasn't heard her be so abrupt in a long while, something is wrong but she's unwilling to talk about it. "We'll be leaving shortly." he informs her.

"Good, I can't wait to find out if our lead goes somewhere." she replies as she gets up and stretches.

Considering that Ro is typically bored out of mind when on a long hover car ride, this just adds to Zetas' worry. "I'll make sure our room and food were paid for by Nova. Meet you in the lobby?"

Ro nods, "Sure thing, Zee."

Zee departs the room, noting that Nova is just exiting her room with a steamer trunk. He pauses to watch her handle it, she seems to be stronger than she let on before. He walks behind her and gets a glance back in his direction.

"Morning Zeta. Are you and Ro leaving too?"

Zeta presses the button for the elevator, "Yes. I see you got your things from your car okay."

Nova smiles, "Oh yes, the mechanic was most amiable to arrange for my things to arrive."

Zeta smiles and the doors open, "I hope they fix your car soon."

"I'm not too worried about it since it is a rental. I should have another rental waiting for me outside." Nova replies.

Zeta nods and steps inside with her following, dragging the steamer trunk. Zeta muses that it is unusual for a woman with apparent money to burn she could afford some wheels on the trunk.

The ride down is quiet and they step out of the elevator nearly together. He heads toward the front desk, Nova watches him a moment and just smiles. oO(Good instincts, may serve him well)Oo she muses as she drags the steamer towards her new rental car and has a man load it up so she doesn't look too suspicious.

She's getting into the drivers' side as Ro and Zeta come out of the hotel. She gives a wave, "Safe travels you two."

"Thanks." Zeta replies. Ro just waves back, but with this small frown on her face.

December 30, 2032

It has been a little over three months since her last direct contact with her objectives. She had been content to watch the drama of their lives unfold from afar, from the shadow - darkness and hiding places that were like a second skin.

She half expects to feel his presence nearby, to see him step out of the shadows and yet he does not. She knows he is still a government project, just like she is, in this time period. Zeta would probably be surprised to find out that synthoids were not the only government projects out there. She had felt the terrible void of loneliness when Christmas came and went.

Above her is a scream, "Zee!" and the answering, "Ro!"

It has come to this pivotal moment, she launches herself into the air. Her jet boots blasting hot flames into the twilight.

"Zee!" comes the girls' scream again just above Nova's position. "No! Zee!"

The synthoid plummets quicker than the girl, thanks to the way he positions his body and is catching up. "I'm not going to let you die."

It is a moment Nova had read over, studied over in the future. It would not happen the way it had before. Zeta catches the girl, taking her into his arms.

Ro utters what she thinks may be her last words, "I love you Zee."

Zeta's reply to this, "I know, Ro. I love you too."

Above them Bennett is yelling at the other agents to do something to save the girl.

Ro looks at the brightly lit city that is coming at them so quickly, she gives in to a swoon and is out cold.

Zeta hugs her close and can do little to stop their plummet, there is nothing to grab onto until they reach the tallest rooftop.

December 31, 2032

Night has come and gone, the sun shines through the drawn curtains. Ro awakes and finds Zeta talking with a female. She stood at least 6'10" tall and wear a matte black suit of armor upon her form. Her angular yet strikingly familiar face was metallic and her optics glowed an orange hue.

Zeta's words finally come into focus as Ro just stares at the two. "I'm not sure if that is wise."

The female just chuckles at him softly and taps a hand on hip, exposing what looked like it belonged on a computer some sort of a media port. "You will just have to trust me."

Ro stares further and finally manages, "Oh .. my.. God.. it's Nova!"

Zeta looks over at Ro, he isn't in hologram as apparently it doesn't matter to have it on with the other standing in front of him. "She claims to be."

"It is her. She told me to trust her too." Ro states as she gets up off the bed she'd been on for the past several hours.

Nova smiles, "She catches on very quickly. Now then, if you would?"

Zeta looks at Ro, but states to Nova, "I'll have to trust you then."

Ro nearly looses it as Zeta's 'male' jack port plugs itself into the corresponding 'female' jack port on Nova. "Oh now that is just wrong!"

Nova offers her a smile and gestures with a hand, "It is just like him plugging into a computer at Ground Wire, Rosalie. I just happen to be a walking one is all."

Ro blinks, humor out of a synthoid.. correction, cyborg.. was a new one on her. Zeta had yet to grasp it and a number of other human ideals. "I still don't like it."

Nova states, "He wishes proof of my claims, and since I have the capability of sharing my memories with another like myself or like him then it was only logical to allow access. Of course the last time I did it, it was a mutual transference with a being whose name I rather not divulge."

Ro just crosses her arms and glares at the lady in armor. "If he's any different after this is over I am so kicking you."

That gets a full blown laugh out of Nova and the reply, "Ah you are a spunky one, I admire that. It is no wonder Zeta keeps you close."

Zeta moves his jack out and looks up at Nova. Ro wishes she could read that metallic face of his, but it offers little to what the tin man is thinking. He looks over to Ro, "We can trust her."

Ro gives a sigh and moves over to sit next to him, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, I just..." glancing at Nova, "think I found another who has similar goals."

Nova nods, "Indeed."

Ro gives him a look, "What does that mean?"

"She didn't have to run from the government seeking her freedom up until recently. She had spent several years as a civilian and was free to do as she wished with her freedom. I was her... inspiration." Zeta explains.

Ro looks from him to Nova, then asks, "Until recently?"

Nova crouches down, balanced perfectly on her feet as her arms rest on her knees, "I refused to continue to be on call. You see I was free, but still required to fulfill my function. The government put money into a product, which was me, and they expected me to pay for my cost of creation. When I refused my last infiltrate and kill order, they came after me with a vengeance. My only recourse was to time travel."

Ro looks at Zeta, he nods to her, "She speaks the truth. Her memories show it to be as she says it." he looks to Nova, "I felt you push me away from some memories of a man made of pure shadow."

"It is difficult to share such memories Zeta. I dearly loved him and to share our intimate moments would be betraying his memory." Nova replies.

Ro gasps, "You were intimate with a human?"

Nova looks to the girl who is blossoming into womanhood and gives her a sad smile, "Those that created me made sure that my cybernetic body would not just be pleasing to the male human eye."

Zeta says, "I apologize for intruding where I was not welcome. I understand your reservations."

Ro's mouth is working, but nothing is coming out. She's utterly speechless. If Nova is implying what Ro thinks she's implying... well that changes her whole mind set when it came to Zeta.

Nova woke to Ro's voice saying, Wake up. She turns over to face the girl, the clock just to the girl's right reads 3:00 in the morning and the darkness is given some light via the flashlight she is carrying. "What is it Ro?"

"I need to talk to you." Ro replies, looking her straight in those softly glowing optics.

Nova shifts her nude form and sits up, "About what dear?"

"Why you came here for starters." Ro states.

"I came to this time to observe you and Zeta for awhile in order to make a final decision. This decision involved what occurred the night I saved you both."

Ro looks at her, expression incredulous, "You mean, we would have died?"

"You would have died. Zeta would have be severely damaged and captured by Bennett's people. Later he would have been taken in for intense examination." Nova then pauses, "I will spare you the further details."

Ro stares at the nude form of Nova, just boggling that she had died from that fall and that this cyborg lady had saved her and Zeta. "But why save us? Doesn't like mess something up for you?"

"Nothing has changed for me that I am aware of, but I understand your concern. Changing the past does change the future in some way. Trust me on this Ro, I did not take saving you two lightly. I considered it quite heavily and watching you two interact solidified the decision I made. As for why, I felt it was the right thing to do."

Ro looks thoughtful, "You said you were inspired by Zetas pursuit of his freedom. Is that the real reason you came here?"

Nova smiles at her, "Yes, it is the big reason why I even considered coming back to this time."

Ro looks down at the floor, the flashlight loose in her hand now, "Do you think it is possible Zee would be more like you?"

Nova cocks her head, "In what way dear?"

Ro takes in a breath, looking up again and into those optics, "More emotional for one. More human." biting her lip, she then says, "God this is hard to say."

Nova holds a hand up, saying, "Yes he can be more emotional, in fact I was going to speak to him about that. As for more human, that would require some alterations to his current frame schematics and probably the installation of organic matter. Unfortunately, after they built me the politicians had a law passed to make sure that anyone trying to harvest human organics for such use would be in big trouble."

Ro hmms, "Nova, when were you made anyway?"

Nova smiles at her, "Let me put it this way for you, I'm old enough to be your Mother."

Ro blinks and asks, "So you are older than Zeta?"

Nova nods.

"Were you made by the same men that made Zeta?" Ro asks.

Nova shakes her head, "Not at all. They probably exchanged what they learned from my project and projects similar to mine to those that made the synthoids."

Ro nods, "Too bad, may have helped Zee and I to get some more information about his project guys."

"There isn't much to tell him, my project members were very restrictive with the information they gave me. I don't even know who my organic matter donor is." Nova replies, "Now if you don't mind dear, I would like to get back to my rest cycle."

"Rest well Nova." Ro replies, she turns to leave and heads towards the door.

Nova lays back down and her optics dim to darkness.

Ro's form flickers and Zeta stands at the door. Zeta had gotten some answers tonight, but it is still not enough. Ro had told him that Nova was a cyborg, that she had even seen her nude. Zeta didn't even comprehend what nude was until he had seen it. Nude to him was as he was now, without a hologram. He stands there, watching the still form and waiting for the electrical change to indicate she is indeed resting. The fact that Nova even requires rest is interesting. It seems that nothing has changed on that one, every so often even he needed to rest. What she said certainly piqued his interest. He did want to be more emotional. Having a conscious was all well and good, but he really wanted more than that. There was also something else nagging at his thoughts, how it was possible Nova had a human lover. How would it be possible for him to be altered to be more human. The questions were just piling up and he was determined to have the answers. He was thankful that Nova saved their lives, he respected her immensely for that. His conscious fought with the decision he was coming to, even as he moved toward the still form something told him this was wrong. He sat on the edge of the bed and tapped Nova on the hip, exposing her female jack port. He plugs his male jack port into it, whispering, I hope you forgive me for this Nova.

Nova dreams of looking at Joseph, a man that was literally a solid shadow and could control that shadow to some extent, he was taking off the armor he wore. He was saying how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. When he touched her, she feels it as it was felt when she was with him, via her microscopic cyberorganic nervous system. She returns the touches, kissing him. It is just a reflection of a time where she was happy, when she was with the man she loved. It is a thing that her unconscious mind brings to the fore as if it were a dream. It is something that comes when she is feeling so utterly alone, and wants to revisit that happier time. The remembrance dream moves through every second of passion, repeating every word or utterance between them, until it reaches the culmination and the dream is no more.

Then she goes into another dream, one she hasn't visited before and wonders as she views it why it is coming to the fore now. She see the men responsible for her creation, the men whose hands sculpted every part that is her - from the smallest cyberorganic nerve, to the microchips, to her exterior. They are talking around her, thinking she's asleep. They speak of the repercussions of giving her a cyberorganic female reproductive system. As she views this, listening intently to this memory that she wasn't even aware of, she feels the secondary presence in her mind. For now she keeps tabs on it, but is more curious about what is being said. It is quite eye opening to learn that the intentions of having that system put in was that they could install a seduction program at a later date, in order to make her a much better infiltration unit. She can feel the surprise from the secondary presence and she fully focuses on it now that that dream remembering had ended. The presence seems to feel her attention upon it, it attempts a retreat but she is very familiar with how her mind works. Every exit that it heads for, she slams it down, soon enough she has it trapped. Now it is her turn to be surprised, oO(Zeta. You could have simply asked instead of infiltrating my mind like this. I hope your conscious realizes that what you have done is pure and simple rape.)Oo She can feel his fear and shame, emotions she didn't even think he was capable of until now. oO(I'm sorry, I just needed some answers and you closed me off when we connect lasted time.)Oo came his reply. She lifts the barriers she trapped his mind in, oO(I hope you got them, Zeta...)Oo

In a flash her mind is within his mind, probing at his memories. He tries to stop her, but every attempt to do so only slows her down a little. But her probes are very selective, and when they happen it's not a bad experience. He hears her reassurance, oO(I learned from a mental rape years ago by an evil cyborg. I know what it is like to be changed utterly by evil, how it is like to fight against it. I was lucky, I eventually overcame the evil he implanted in my mind. This is merely a demonstration Zeta, that your systems can be hacked.)Oo She is still within his mind now, he is tempted to trap her there, but instead joins her. 'oO(Thank you for being so understanding Nova.)Oo He feels something flow into his mind, a program. oO(What is this?)Oo.

oO('A program to help you with your emotions, Zeta. The one thing that your creators would not give you, which you had to learn on your own. A conscious is just the start, it has helped you learn about humans. But it can only do so much.')Oo The download stops and he feels her pulling her mind out, oO(I wish you luck Zeta, Rosalie is a spirited and intelligent young lady.)Oo

Zeta replies, oO(Oh I know.)Oo He can already feel the effects of the downloaded program. He cannot find a virus within, or something else that would cause his programming harm.

oO(Do you truly love her?)Oo comes the query as Nova's mind drifts to the cusp of his own.

oO(Thanks to this program, I can truly say that I feel this is true. Before it felt like I was just saying it since I had so little to go on.)Oo It certainly was so, but from what he viewed of Nova with her Joseph, there was yet a long road to travel if he should decide to pursue that.

Nova's thought echoes via their connection, 9((I would be careful from here on Zeta. Love has many definitions with humans. I could not tell you if Rosalie loves you as my Joseph loved me. For all I know she loves you as if you were her brother.)Oo

Zeta thinks back just before severing the connection, oO(It seems I've yet much to learn. You have helped me a great deal, and for that I will be eternally in your debt.)Oo

The connection is severed and Nova stirs by him, she sits up and smiles at him. "I will hold you to that debt Zeta, and I will collect on it."

Zeta nods and replies, "I should return to Ro before she wakes up and notices I am gone."

"Good night, Zeta."

The door is answered by Zeta in his holographic human male form. Nova stands at there on the other side, "I wished to say good bye before I left."

Ro moves towards where she was in the room, cocking her head at the fully armored Nova, "Going so soon?"

"I am afraid so." Nova replies.

Zeta nods, "Perhaps we shall meet again."

Nova smiles in a mysterious fashion, "Perhaps."

Ro offers Nova her hand, "Thanks for everything Nova. It's been a blast."

Nova accepts the hand, shaking it and then releasing it, "As it has for me, Rosalie." she looks back to Zeta, "Tread your path carefully, Zeta." she leans forward and kisses him on the cheek, "For luck."

Ro gapes a bit and Zeta puts a hand on her shoulder, "Thank you. Come on Ro, we still need to find that path."

Nova smiles at Ro's reaction, she steps back to allow the two to pass and watches them enter the elevator. The way Ro was staring at Zeta, it was if she didn't recognize him anymore. Nova puts a hand on the doors as they are about to close, "One more thing Zeta, do not seek out Project Nova. She may not be as understanding in this time as she is now."

Zeta cocks his head, then nods, "No problem."

Nova releases the door and it closes. She pauses, thinking back to that odd note that was left to her younger self around this period of time. The note read the same, and was still signed with the letter Z.


	2. The Domino Effect: Time is a Snake Eatin...

September 3, 2033

Nova knew when she interfered with the death of Rosalie Rowen and the near destruction of Zeta that she would begin a ripple effect from that point and into the future. Exactly what those changes would be she could only guess. The fact that her memory was able to hang onto the reality that once was is purely amazing. A wind tugs at her cloak, making it flutter just as the huge American flag behind her did. Looking down, she marvels at what she stood upon, the rebuilt pillars of steel and glass known as the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Somewhere on the ground, among the millions of human beings are Ro and Zeta, looking for clues to the location of those that built him. Nova smiles slightly, little did Zeta know that as part of his downloading her emotional programming he also took in a tracking program. Via this program Nova can trace their movements, thusly keeping tabs and assuring her changing the past stayed that way. This would be her first year anniversary in 2032 as a time traveler. Oh she knew the risks of interacting with the populace, but she kept it to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, there was a drawback to being here, she couldn't seek out maintenance - not even from her creators for fear of running into her present time self.

Ro walks beside Zeta, hands gripping his arm tightly so they are not separated in this crowded, jostling mass of human bodies. Things for them had changed the moment they departed ways with Nova. She had noticed right away when Zeta had actually laughed at a pun she had made. As the weeks passed, she observed the emotional reactions to things they were doing. She didn't know what to make of it, her tin man had become more human. When they stop in front of the Twin Towers, Zee looks at the slightly weathered memorial plaque with thousands of names upon it. There is such a look of sadness there.

"Zee, you okay?" she asks.

Zeta puts on a game face and smile, "I'm fine. Come on, it's a walk yet to where we need to be." He had lied outright to her rather than tell her what he felt. He had yet to tell her of Novas' gift to him. Some of the time he regrets it when he feels such things as sadness or anger, and other times he feels glad he has feelings. A large void had been filled the moment he accessed the emotional program, but there was yet a void to fill and that was finding his answers.

September 3, 2043

A year and a month have passed since Nova had used the time traveling device to move into the past and arrive in 2032. The government was not happy about it at all and had called in the House and Senate before the President to decide how to handle the situation.  
Little did they know that the future they were living in was actually better than the future that once existed before the cyborg jumped. It had taken a month for them to decide what to do. The result of this decision now stands in the room where Nova herself had taken her leap into the past.

"You know your target, if you cannot bring her back in one piece then your orders are to bring her back in pieces." states a man with many military ribbons and several stripes on his sleeves. "Hit it."

The machine comes to life, first at a low hum and then building into a loud crescendo of sound accompanied by blinding light.

September 4, 2032

Nova moves among the masses dressed in her human disguise. She notes the stares, glances, and lurid looks from many various men as she goes. It privately amuses her as she follows the tracking program within Zeta. She pauses as they cross a street, watches them move up the stairs to a museum. A advertising banner outside the front door reads 'This month only Robot History and Prehistoric Beasts'. She hmms softly and wonders what Zeta expects to find out, she moves toward the museum. Three figures trail behind her looking like tourists out on the town taking pictures.

Inside the museum, Nova finds Zeta and Ro in the Robot History exhibit. She makes sure she stays within hearing distance without being seen. Meanwhile, the three figures move toward exhibit as well.

Ro asks, "Zeta why are we here? Visiting old friends or something?"

Zeta smiles and chuckles softly, "No old friends here Ro, just research."

Ro follows him as he moves from one exhibit to the next, "What research is this exactly?"

Zeta pauses as he notes three figures standing at the entry to this exhibit. Three rather lovely women who are currently drawing very advanced looking weapons. "No time for that Ro, run for the exit and don't look back."

Ro is quick to follow his gaze, "Great, since when did Bennetts' cronies come after us out of their boring government suits."

"Just run." Zeta hisses at her.

Just then the three women fire their weapons, but not at Zeta and Ro. There is a scream of surprise and pain from behind a pillar, then a woman staggers back away from it. Zeta and Ro both gasp in unison, "Nova?"

The three woman run towards Nova, continuing to fire at her with not a shred of mercy. Chunks of fake skin and metal fly off Nova as she continues to back away, then finally she ignites her jet boots and takes flight. The three take flight as well, pursuing her.

"Looks like she made herself some enemies." Ro notes with a bit of awe at the firepower being displayed.

Zetas' hologram melts away as his hidden laser weapon raises up, he takes aim and fires exactly three rounds. Each one hits one of the women and results in them pausing in pain to glare at their attacker. This gives Nova the edge as she turns around with a morning star in one hand and an axe in the other.

"Uh Zeta, they don't look happy." Ro declares as the trio take aim upon Zeta.

Nova strikes the first one with the morning star, hitting her in the back of the neck. That one screeches and falls to the ground, taking out a display of early robots. The second and third turn just as Nova swings her axe and buries it deep into the chest of the second. That one curls up slightly in pain, clutching at the handle of the weapon.

"Damn..." Ro utters in amazement.

Nova jerks her axe out of the chest of second, a shower of electricity results. The thirds' shot at Nova is deflected slightly as Zeta's laser tags her in the side. Her shot hits Nova in the upper leg, the result is a fiery explosion.

System Bootup Initiated. Booting. Systems Check Begin. On Board Cerebral Check - Nominal. Program Check - Nominal. Repair System - Functional, Initiate Repairs. Repairs Feedback - Missing entire left leg. Pre-System Bootup repairs in place. Conscious Mind Boot Up. Booting.

Novas' optics flickered on as she gazes up at a ceiling. Hardware Bootup. Booting. All Systems - Nominal, Missing Report from left leg. External temperature 71 degrees. Organics Check... Cerebral: Nominal. Nervous: Nominal, no reply from left leg. Gastric: Nominal. Reproductive: Minor Damage. Repairs in progress.

Zeta moves from where he had been standing the past few hours. "It is good to see you awake. You gave us quite a scare you know."

Nova turns her head, "Good to be awake, Zeta. Like to give me an update on what happened after I off lined?"

Zeta nods, "The explosion caused by your leg sent shrapnel everywhere. All three of those women plus myself took the brunt. Thankfully Ro had been behind a display and hit the floor, she wasn't harmed. You fell to the ground engulfed in flames and dropped the weapons in your hands. The one you had hit in the back of the head didn't recover. The one you hit in the chest got shrapnel in that wound and apparently lost use of her arms. The third had an injured arm and shrapnel damage, she flew down to pick up the fallen one. Ro grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to put out the fire that was burning off your disguise. I'm afraid it was a lost cause by the time she got it out. I kept my weapon leveled on the three and they departed without a word. The smoke from the fire triggered the fire alarms, so I picked you up and Ro got your weapons, then we ran out of one of the exits."

Nova takes this in, "Seems that we are even now." she notes, then pauses a moment, "Where are we?"

"An abandoned warehouse that used to house robotics parts" he replies and then tells her, "If you were wondering, I was able to do some patch work to the exposed area where your leg used to be."

Nova smiles, "I was wondering when I detected the repair down there. Thank you for that."

Ro comes into the room pushing a wheeled cart with several sets of legs. "Here you go Z, this is all I could find." she looks over to where Nova who is smiling at her, "Great to see that smile again, Nova."

Nova looks over the legs on the cart, "Nice to smile again, Ro. Seems you two have anticipated the required repair to make me whole again."

Zeta moves over to the cart to look over the legs himself, "Ro has a good eye for detail, she insisted that she find the legs and then I'd get to do the repairs."

Ro grins a bit, "Exactly."

Nova sits up, examining the area of damage as best as she can visually. "Well we will have a lot to do to make everything compatible. Let us start with the fit first and work from there."

In another part of the city, the trio sent from the future to retrieve Nova is affecting their own repairs. The healthiest of the group works on the less injured one first, removing the shrapnel from her and then synthetic skin, as it is damaged. The parts that are available to replace the missing components within the chest are primitive, but workable. It takes her six hours to get her sister to a level where she can assist her with her own injuries. Finally the third gets her turn. It takes the rest of the night and part of the next day to resecure the vertebrae in the neck along with fixing any damage to important nerves. They talk in soft tones, discussing what to do next.

Nova's gait was a little off, but the replacement leg was at least working now. It had been a patience burning process, but thankfully the two non-humans had it to spare. Ro however was another story, she lost interest three hours in and had wandered off to get something to eat. Nova stops and turns toward Zeta, who has been quietly watching on. "I suspect that my attackers will be coming for me again, Zeta. You must take Ro and leave."

Zeta shakes his head at her, "If I know Ro, she will agree with me when I tell you that there is no way we would abandon a friend."

Nova sighs, "Don't be foolish Zeta. It was a matter of time before my times' government sent someone after me. I just wish I knew who they were."

"You don't know who they are? How is that possible?" he asks.

"Well, I have a couple theories on that. First one is that they may have been built after I time jumped here. Second is that they were built in the future that is to come, and since I only remember the future that was... I have yet to live the future that is unfolding."

Zeta considers a moment, then offers, "Do you think perhaps your mind has insured you don't remember both versions of the future so you don't get confused?"

Nova nods and smiles, "I had considered that. I also think it is possible that it did so to insure that I don't muck up the future any further than my occasional interactions with those that live in the present."

Zeta replies, "Either makes sense." he pauses, "I think we need to discuss a plan for dealing with your attackers."

Nova moves back to where she spent hours getting her leg reattached, "I agree. Did you happen to scan them while I was fighting them? I'd like to compare and see what we come up with."

Zeta inclines his head, "That I did."

Several days later.

Ro peeks at Novas' left leg. The leg had changed as if it was evolving on some sort of level she could never comprehend. Ro shakes her head, hand slipping over a concealed laser blaster on loan from Nova. She had figured that Nova had more hardware than Zeta, but this is ridiculous. She sighs and looks over at Zeta next to her, they are hiding within a pile of scrap cars inside a large junkyard.

Zeta had his laser weapon at ready as well as a borrowed blaster from Nova. Looking at Ro, he notes that she looks uncomfortable in the makeshift vest and pants that hopefully would keep her somewhat safe if one of the three happens to get close enough to swing at her.

Nova stands with her back to the hiding pair, waiting. She knows that the three would be repaired by now. She had figured that they had a way of tracking her down via her electrical signature. That is why they are here now. The sound of jet boots reaches her hearing, she lifts her left foot slightly off the ground - a signal to the pair that they are coming and to be ready.

Ro peeks over again and spots the signal, she lowers back down, quickly pulling junk over herself.

Zeta does the same, taking her cue and hearing the sound himself now.

Nova speaks, "I would like to know who I face this day and why you seek to destroy me?"

The sound of the jet boots were louder now, she had a visual on them. She follows their flight path until finally all three land, encircling her.

"Your request is a valid one," says the tallest of the three, black armor covers her.

One in armor that is in shades of purple speaks next, "We are Nightstarr." gesturing to the one in black, "Dreadstarr." motioning to herself, and then to the last, "Dawnstarr."

Dawnstarr, in armor in shades of dark red, states, "Destroying you is within our mission parameters to return you to the future, Death Nova."

Nova replies, "Do give me a decent fight, it has been ages."

Zeta takes aim at Dawnstarr and Ro upon Dreadstarr, then they open fire.

Nova looks upon the trio of cyborgs. She hears Zeta and Ro pull themselves out of the junk behind her as she kneels down. She is tired and in pain, the latter doesn't last long as she engages her pain dampers.

Zeta moves past Nova, he taps on the hip of Nightstarr who feebly attempts to push him away with a stumpy arm. He plugs himself into her jack port and accesses the files Nova had instructed him to procure and implant. Thanks to Nova's download of firewall hacking software, he had no trouble with the mental defenses the cyborg puts up. Finding what is needed and downloading a memory, he withdraws his jack and steps back. "They do have a retrieval device." he states.

Nova smiles, "Excellent. If you would find it and bring it to me."

Ro shifts off her protective armoring as she watches Zeta search Dawnstarr, "You sure this will work Nova?"

Nova looks to the girl and replies, "We shall see, won't we?"

Zeta finds what Nova had described to him earlier and brings it over to her. Nova taps her fingernails over the data pad and nods. "It is set. Rosalie?"

Ro reaches into the pile they had just climbed out of and retrieves her backpack, she unzips it. "That's disgusting."

Zeta moves to assist and pulls out what looks like a squished mass of brain tissue and metal. Nova lifts the retrieval unit up to his free hand as he passes her. He sets both the unit and the mass in the hands of Nightstarr, then moves back to where Nova and Ro wait.

"Retrieval of three beings. Parameters set. Engage." Nova speaks.

The unit hums and a crackling light show moves over the three still forms. The sound builds, as does the light. The figures seem to become one with the light and with a flash they are no more.

September 8, 2043

The room hums to life and a flash of light heralds the return of the three sisters. Sixteen men move forward towards their damaged forms. Only one of these men takes the mass of grey matter and cybernetics out of the hands of Nightstarr.

"Tell the General that they have accomplished their mission, I'm taking this to Project Nova for analysis." he barks to another military man.

The fifteen men he leaves behind are much too busy assessing what they can do for their wards to notice.

Several hours later...

"What were your findings?" the General asks of the five men standing around a table where they had dissected and examined the mass.

"They were conclusive, General. This used to be Nova." states one of them.

The General nods, "Excellent. I'll be contacting you soon for reassignment." he turns and heads out the door.

Once the door is shut all five men smile to each other, knowing full well they lied.


	3. The Domino Effect: Ripple in Time

Background: The date was August 3rd of 2042. The day Nova took a trip through time to the year 2032. She had saved the life of Rosalie Rowen and in the process saved Zeta, a synthoid originally programmed to destroy. After this Rosalie learned first that Nova was not as she seemed. Zeta learned later on, only because she felt it was time. He learned much from her via their port connection. He pushed it too far later on, learning about sex and her lover all on one fell swoop. This bothered her a little. Zeta was so innocent about human things from what she gleaned during their connection. Nova gave him a lesson and a program - the gift of emotion. They parted ways and didn't speak until a year later. Nova was content to follow them and see how things progressed with them. She basically guaranteed they both stayed alive, not wishing to have misspent her time saving them a year earlier. Nova had been following them when she was attacked by three female cyborgs. Thanks to the quick thinking of Zeta and help from Ro, she survived the encounter and set up a meeting between herself and her attackers. When she learned what she needed to know, Nova and the hidden forms of Ro and Zeta took them down. They were not killed, but sent back to the future with a false cybernetic brain made to look like Nova's. She hoped that her team of creators would lie for her.

May 2, 2044

It has been nearly twelve years since Nova first time jumped to the past. During that time she had watched over and interacted slightly with Zeta and Rosalie Rowen. She observed Ro develop into a lovely woman and how Zeta reacted to her now that he had the capacity to feel emotions. It was a pleasantly quiet ten years, considering what they had been through. Bennett's team had given up pursuing the duo once Professor Selig came out of hiding and told the world about how he made Zeta different from the other synthoids. The whole business of the government explaining the need for synthoids was a horrendously arduous one. With all the unexplained deaths of human beings out there, a lot of finger pointing had happened. For a time Nova was unsure if Ro and Zeta would even get a chance to continue to be together during the trails. Despite the government creating the synthoid projects and sending them out to eliminate dangerous targets, it survived the trails and the outrage with minimal damage. Unfortunately for them the citizens of the United States, and in fact the entire world, now didn't trust the government to be totally up front with what projects it was working on. Those that created the synthoids were not found at fault for doing their jobs, though many question the ethics of it. The synthoids themselves were all brought in for reprogramming. All except Zeta, who was the example the others were programmed to follow. Many became companions for the rich, others found a place assisting in more dangerous jobs. Overall the whole incident had been something to see. During this whole mess, Nova had not seen one indication of the three cyborgs that had come for her revisiting. She took this as good news, knowing that her creators had lied and she was now truly free. The only drawback was keeping a low profile. She'd never gone so long without extended contact with humans, let alone without routine checkups. Nova had to admit that she felt a bit sluggish, her own diagnostics showed that some parts were showing wear that would need tending to and the sooner the better.

September 2, 2044

It had been four years ago when the shit hit the fan. The government was being intensely investigated concerning all its current projects. It had been a scurry to get the project out of the limelight, and in the process those that had nurtured him and his brothers had lost the control they thought they had over them. They all broke free. Unfortunately freedom came at a heavy price. The infighting between them that had begun in training now had no one to stifle it, it eventually cost the lives of six of the ten brothers. Those that were strong enough or smart enough to survive separated ways. But even in separation, the bad blood continued and two more were dead.

He crouches on top of a building, just within the shadow of an air conditioning unit, quietly observing a taller building that he is going to hit later on that evening. The power he wields makes him look like a literal 'shadow man'. Through the binoculars he holds to his eyes, he cases the building out. Word on the street was it held many useful items he could turn around and make a good profit. Ironic that he was going to be robbing those who think the law is above them. Then he spots something moving on the very top, he focuses on it and sees what at first appears to be a black flag. When the figure that is attached to the black cape moves, he quickly realizes what he is laying eyes on. oO(Project Nova? I thought that cyborg was off lined.)Oo he muses. Yet, that was indeed the cyborg that had been reportedly eliminated by three other cyborgs. At least that is what those three had told him when he tracked them down. He lowers his binoculars, pondering what to do with this information.

Time - a tricky thing to be playing with, no matter how good or bad your intentions. The things you set in motion the second you change what was to what could have been has a ripple effect.

Time before the change: Rosalie Rowen had died from the fall and Zeta was severely injured. The news of her death had a devastating effect on the synthoid. Even after Professor Selig had rebuilt him, Zeta really didn't recover from the loss. He spent a lot of time reading or thinking. It was perchance he discovered the Project Nova files and later secreted a message to the cyborg. Because of his message, Nova sought her own freedom and eventually met the mutant 'shadow man' Blacklight. It was with this freedom she eventually came to the past.

Time after the change: Rosalie Rowen and Zeta were saved by the time jumper Nova. Zeta received a downloaded emotions program from Nova. He and Ro saved Novas' life and sent her would be killers back to the future. Synthoids, cyborgs, and mutants all created by government programs were brought into the spotlight after Selig came out to speak on behalf of Zeta. Zeta got the freedom he wanted and things were a little better for almost everyone concerned.

Differences: Zeta and Ro: living or dying. Synthoids, cyborgs and mutants: staying secret or becoming part of the public knowledge. Nova: Knowing of the first future and living the newly recreated one without her beloved Blacklight.

The room had been as quiet as a morgue at night for a full three minutes. No one had said a word as they all took in the information they had just received. Then the man at the head of the table asked the man who delivered this news to depart. The discussion of what to do went on for half an hour. When they came to their decision, they called in the messenger once more.

"Nova has broken the law and has been on the run for far too long. It seems we must rectify the situation before she takes another time trip. See to it that the operative that came to you is given full access to her schematics, knowledge base and whatever else he may need. Indicate to him that he will have his freedom and a generous reward for taking her down."

"Understood, sir. Anything else?"

"Yes. Make sure he has whatever he wishes to track her and then take her down."

"It will be done, sir."

A few weeks later...

He rubbed at his temples with a hand as his other hand wrote down notes. He was finalizing a few plans on how to tackle the enigma that was Nova. He knew everything there was to know through the extensive notes of Project Novas' creators over the years as well as the downloaded visuals from Nova herself. He had witnessed hundreds of hours of visual information from Nova's viewpoint - having seen every infiltration from beginning to end. Despite what he had seen and read, there was something amiss. He had no grasp of how the cyborg thought. That was the one thing that didn't download. Apparently Nova had some measure of control over what her creators could download. Perhaps this would not matter in the end, he had the tools to take her on now. Hopefully he could take her down before she had the chance to take him out.

Nova rested her back against the brick wall as she observed a window across the way. The shade was pulled, but that mattered little to her. She overheard every word quite well. Why did she do this to herself? Looking in on and overhearing what Zeta and Ro did at night since their 'marriage' did nothing more than make her miss what she had once. She kept trying to excuse her behavior by reminding herself it was for their own good. But was it really? Was it logical to think that there still might be a threat to them after being free of the government looking for them for so long?

CLUNK!

Something impacted upon her chest and a second later she felt a crippling electromagnetic pulse run through her form. She managed a strangled scream before she fell into unconsciousness.

He watched as the cyborg went down with no trouble at all. It was way too easy. Swinging over on his cable, he alighted next to her still form.

"Hold it right there." came Zetas' voice from behind him. He turned toward the synthoid who was halfway out of the window across from him when Zeta blinks and utters, "It's you."

He didn't have time to be delayed, he gripped a second electromagnetic device off his belt and as he rose his hands to feign surrender he tossed it at Zeta. The result was the same as Nova, he was nullified.

"Zee!" Ro cried as she gripped at Zetas' waist to keep him from tumbling out of the window fully. She laid eyes on the shadow man then on the fallen Nova before she managed to pull Zetas' still form back inside.

Novas' systems came online, doing the routine checkups as they came to life. A voice to her left said, 'She is coming online sir.' Another to her right said, 'Excellent.' Her optics came online and she looked around. When she saw the four bodies just ten feet in front of her she gasped for she knew who they were. Her creators were dead.

"Death Nova." said the voice to her right. She turned her head to look at the man, dressed in military garb and wearing the metals befitting his rank. "The men who created you and covered up your apparent demise have been dealt with for their treachery. You used your freedom to do God knows what to our past. For your actions, your memories will be deleted. However, we shall keep you alive to act as you were once programmed to do."

A voice to her left spoke, "Isn't that a little harsh?"

The military man glared, "You have your freedom for bringing her here in the first place Blacklight. I suggest you take your money and be sure never to cross the government."

Nova looked upon Blacklight. This was a man that in her future she had loved, who had loved her. She can't help but cry. This man would never know what she does about their time together.

He gripped the handle to the briefcase that held his payoff for bringing the cyborg in. He saw the tears trail down her face and it really did bother him. "I will see myself out." he told the man and departed from that room.

He walked out with an escort and wasn't left alone until he was out of the military base. Hiding the briefcase, he infiltrated the base. Crawling through the heating ducts until he reached the room where he had left the military chump with Nova. He was just in time to see the replay of some of her memories.

Time passes...

Shock. That's the simple word to put to how he felt at that moment. Even as the military man ordered the deletion of memories, he was in total shock. He watched as Nova screamed and apparently struggled, but to no avail. When the technician announced that all her memories were gone and that start up protocols would begin, he knew he had to do something. He waited them out, listening to the military jerk give the newly reawakened Nova her orders as she was freed from her restraints. After Nova and military jackass had left the technician alone in the room did he even make his move. The poor technician didn't know what hit him. It would be hours before he was discovered, and by then Blacklight was long gone with not only his payoff, but several DVD recordings of Nova's memories.

Months later...

He viewed each DVD in order from earliest memory to latest. He skipped through a lot of the infiltration viewing. The moment he saw himself in those memories though, he took his time to view every second from the first memory of him to the last. It was strange to see himself being a lover to a cyborg. After recovering from his shock, he sought out other information from those memories. He learned why she went to the past in the first place, he witnessed how the future had been before her jump as well. If the military had bothered to see that, well they may not have been so eager to delete her memories and reuse her as an object of destruction. He resolved to right what had been done, and he knew of only one being that might be able to help him. Zeta.

Breaking into the apartment was a lot easier than he expected. He had five seconds to himself before Zeta came running out of the bedroom in little more than shorts.

"Who are you?" Zeta demanded as his arms extended to snatch at the figure in the dark.

Allowing himself to be captured, rather than fighting and drawing attention he didn't need, Blacklight replied calmly, "My name is Blacklight. But I think you already knew that Zeta." he paused just long enough for that to sink in, "I've come here to talk to you about Death Nova."

Zeta held the man firmly, just staring at him. Yes he did know the man before him thanks to the mental connections he had shared with Nova. The fact that the man was here to talk to him about her was indeed a puzzler. "What about her?"

"A few months back she was captured by me. I was paid to bring her in." he holds up a hand as the synthoid opens his mouth to say something, "She had broken the law concerning time travel."

Zeta releases him, "So... she's gone."

Blacklight shakes his head, "Only for the moment. You see they downloaded her memories first and then wiped her mind clean. They uploaded all her programs, leaving the memories out, and reactivated her."

Zeta sighs, "That's horrible. She's done so much for Ro and I."

The shadow man nods, "Yeah I saw the memories after I stole them off those chumps."

Zeta looks shocked a moment, then smiles a bit, "What do you plan to do with that knowledge those memories represent?"

A chuckle answers him at first, "What do you think Zeta? I'm going to totally fubar the government and give them right back to her. But I need your help."

Zeta smiles, "You got it."

Zeta had to convince Ro to stay behind since he and Blacklight could be gone for longer than bills waiting to be paid would allow. The convincing part was a lot easier than leaving her behind part. Even as the two men traveled, Zeta felt the separation keenly. He reminded himself that if not for Nova, he wouldn't even feel emotions at all. The fact that Nova was now basically like he was when he first came online also helped him to go where the clues of her whereabouts led. He found travelling with Blacklight both mysterious and illuminating at once. Mysterious because the man was careful about how much he told Zeta about himself. Illuminating in the fact that he was going out of the way to help a cyborg that, in this future, he had never met.

It had been a full month of following clues, leads, and hitting dead ends before they had finally hit pay dirt. Zeta found it amazing the sources this man of shadow had, even beyond the borders of the United States. But this source knew exactly where Nova was going to be and when, all they had to do was get there and set up their snare...

"I hope this works." Zeta said.

"It will work. Got to trust me on this. Now get out there." Blacklight replied.

Zeta nodded, shifting his hologram program to resemble the man who was to be Novas' hit this evening. He moved away from where Blacklight was standing and into the night. The plan was simple enough, Zetas' disguise would hopefully draw Nova out into the open where Blacklight could tag her with an electromagnetic device that would temporarily render her offline. Zeta reminded himself that it would work and that he'd be able to avoid any harm to himself.

Blacklight waited a few minutes and then moved from his spot, he grappled up to the rooftop of a building and began to follow slowly behind Zeta. Minutes passed as he followed along, going along the large rooftop that was the main building inside the complex the hit in question lived in. He was focused on keeping watch on Zeta and moving along the roofline when a hand clamps over his mouth. He feels the cold steel of a sword caress his throat.

"What do I have here? Competition perhaps?" whispers a seductive female voice in his ear.

Blacklight quelled his fear quickly, he couldn't afford to freak out. His free hands stayed to his sides, a pinky finger taps on a device he placed on his belt. The sword moved slightly to the side, he felt it slice just slightly into his skin. He could feel the unyielding metal of her armored body pressing into his back.

"Or perhaps what I have here is a dead man."

A metal hand came out of the darkness, snatching at the very tip of the sword, drawing it away from his throat. The hand on his mouth drew off, the claws on the fingertips raking against it and his cheek just deep enough to make him scream in pain. As he staggered away from the cyborg behind him, he heard a laser shoot past and metal sizzle.

Zeta hovered close by him a moment, pausing long enough to see what damage had been done, then moved towards Nova who was hissing, "Another one?"

Blacklight turned, grabbing the device in one hand. He noticed that Nova had drawn a gun of her own as Zeta landed near her.

"We are not after the man you seek. We are after you." Zeta told her.

'What?" she yelled. Something landed high on her chest, a second later an electromagnetic burst flashed over her form. She jerked a few times, then fell to her knees as her optics flickered once then went dark. Her unconscious body hit the ground.

Zeta sighed and turned to Blacklight, "I'll carry her."

A short time later...

Upon reaching their temporary base of operations, Zeta set down Nova upon the floor. He looked up at Blacklight who had been oddly quiet on the trip over, the man was holding a white handkerchief to his face. "Go clean up Blacklight, I will have to make sure she stays under until we can get her memories downloaded."

Blacklight moved to the bathroom and got the supplies he would need to tend to his flesh wounds. He returned with them and sat on the floor just feet from Zeta, setting down a bottle of iodine, cotton balls, gauze and tape. Watching Zeta work, he put the iodine on a cotton ball and then applied it to the sword wound first. The wounds to his lip area and cheek received a similar dose of iodine. He didn't issue a sound so not to disturb the synthoids' concentration. By the time Zeta was done, the gauze was in place.

Hours later...

Ro met up with them on the tarmac. Zeta got a big hug and kiss as Blacklight wheeled the covered form of Nova toward an awaiting delivery truck. Once the two separated, the two males put Nova into the vehicle as Ro got into the passengers' side. Blacklight climbed in back with the unconscious Nova, making sure she was secured. Zeta got in on the drivers' side and drove.

Novas' systems went through routine checks as she awoke. Something felt amiss but she was having a hard time putting her finger on it. She listened to the voices near her. She recognized them immediately. "Zeta? Ro?" she uttered softly. Her optics were on, but it was oddly dark.

"Yes Nova, it's us." Zeta replied.

"It worked! Yes!" Ro shouted.

"Why is it so dark?" Nova asked. The darkness suddenly lifted, like a living thing, drawing towards a figure off to her right. "I think someone better start explaining." came her slightly shocked statement.

Zeta stepped up from her left, "You want the long or short version?"

The cyborg replied, "Every detail, Zeta."

Even as Zeta explained how she came to be here, she kept a peripheral view of Blacklight. After having purposely avoiding him for years, there he stood. She couldn't help but wonder 'why' as Zeta ended his story.

"I must thank you both for what you have gone through. I do truly appreciate and admire your tenacity and bravery. Thing is that the government will notice my hit isn't dead and that I've gone missing. They will come looking for me. If they catch me, I may just end up in the same position of not remembering my own past." Nova informs them.

Blacklight moved from his spot as Ro spoke, "Already taken care of Nova. You see Zeta already arranged for the government to find your remains."

Zeta nods, "Hopefully they will never find out that what I left behind isn't actually you."

Nova sat up, rubbing her forehead lightly with her fingers. The intermeshing of old memories with that of the memories she had before the download were giving her a slight headache, something that had never happened before. "One problem with that, I doubt they will be fooled twice so easily. Even if they are, I could be spotted and be hunted down again."

"That is why you will be joining me, Nova." Professor Selig stated, as he moved into the room. "I will reconstruct your outer structure so they won't be able to recognize you."

Nova stared at the old man, then looked to Zeta. "You surprise me by your resourcefulness Zeta."

Ro giggled, "Yeah, he's pretty crafty for a tin can."

Selig chuckled, "Actually both you and Zeta will be undergoing the procedure."

Zeta quirked a brow at Ro, "What have you been up to behind my back?"

Ro put on an innocent face, "You'll find out tin man."

Blacklight he went along with the group to where Selig had set up shop. The place was a treasure trove of things that could resell on the black market for double their list price. But he had no intention of robbing the elderly man. He watched alongside Ro as Selig worked on Nova first. Zeta helped him out as he had some details that the Professor needed to make sure the operation went well. Days passed before it was Zetas' turn, then it was Nova who helped out Selig. Once Zetas' operation was done, it would be another three days before the Professor cleared the two from quarantine.

"You are a miracle worker!" Ro declared as she hugged Zeta the second he stepped out of quarantine. She marveled at how warm he felt. She could even hear a 'heart' beating and feel his chest rise and fall. He looked exactly like his hologram, just sans the hologram.

Selig smiled as Nova moved out next, "No trouble at all, my dear." though he cautioned, "You will both have to come in for routine checkups for a short while. Of course, do stop by if you run into troubles."

"Understood, Professor." Nova stated softly, her gaze was on Blacklight. She had thought about why he had sought out Zeta, put himself in danger, and finally came with them here. She stood in front of him, with one word upon her lips, "Why?"

The man of shadow pushed off the wall he was leaning on, "Well, to be honest with you it was your memories of us together. They showed me something I had been missing in my life. he paused as he looked up at a face now fully fleshed and surrounded by a halo of silvery hair, "I saw how it went down with you and that version of myself. I know that you wanted me to be happy at the expense of your own feelings. That took more courage than I have ever seen in my life."

Nova nodded to his words. She heard Zeta whisper to Ro and Selig to 'leave the two alone' and then walk away. "I'm at a loss as to what to say, Joseph."

He paused, not having heard his given birth name in the longest time. He stepped closer, "Then let me say this to you, if Ro and Zeta can make it work... then so can we."

The End.


End file.
